Saints and Sinners (S Winchester)
by SkadiLokison
Summary: Scarlett Anderson left her home after witnessing a supernatural creature murder the closest thing she ever had to a brother. She was lost, and would likely be dead if it weren't for Sienna Gunner. Now, after four years, they've come into contact with the Winchester brothers, two boys who seem to tangle both Scarlett and Sienna in their messes...
1. Prologue: Dream On

_"Dream on, Dream until your dream come true"_

 _-Dream On, Aerosmith_

 **Scarlett Anderson** was a lot of things.

To every day, ordinary people, she was just an ordinary girl, with nothing weird ever going on around her.

To her father, she was a angsty teen, making a horrible mistake and in need of a therapist. She was completely insane, and needed help.

To her sister Cassidy, she was distant, broken, and a mystery that may never be unraveled. She was a voice on the other side of a phone call.

To her cousin Marcus, she was the closest thing he could get to a sister, and she needed to be protected.

To Sam Winchester, she was the girl who was there for all his highs and lows, and the girl who sacrificed so much for him and the world. He loved her.

To Dean Winchester, she was always the nineteen year old girl he met in 2005, and never lost her spunk. She was the hunter that never backed down from a fight.

But to Sienna Gunner, she was a friend.

Of all these things, being a friend was what mattered most to Scarlett. After all she had been through, after all she had endured… just knowing that she had at least one person by her side believing in her made it all worthwhile. Sienna had been there for her, even when she didn't think she needed someone.

Sienna was the one who had convinced Scarlett to stop living in her pickup truck and move into the bunker.

She had wanted so desperately to stay in the truck, mainly because she hadn't had a bedroom to herself in years and was scared of the change.

But nevertheless, Sienna prevailed and had helped unload all the various things from the truck and place them in their respective rooms.

Scarlett had been going through her things, taking her time to set up everything. This was the first time in years that she has slept in a room that wasn't part of some crappy, one star motel, so she was going to make the most of it.

She took out a small black box from off the floor, and proceeded to dust off the top of it, coughing from all the dirt that had apparently piled up on it after all those years in the back of a pickup truck.

"You know, I'm genuinely shocked you and Moose aren't bunking together."

The voice made Scarlett jump back from the box, knocking over several old trophies of hers from when she was little and ran track. They landed on the rug Scarlett had just purchased to make this new room feel like… well, home.

Sienna just laughed a little and walked over to her, helping her fix everything again. "Sorry 'bout that," she said, bending down and collecting them in her arms, only to set them down on the black comforter that was still folded up on the floor.

Scarlett just rolled her eyes a little, but still smiled. "Well, he kinda just got over Amelia… I don't think it's a good idea to just throw myself back at him."

Sienna leaned back against a wall and tossed her blonde hair out of her eyes. "You're such a good person, it saddens me. I have failed at corrupting you."

A pillow was then thrown from the doorway and hit Sienna right on the jaw. She stumbled forward, grasping her jaw.

Laughter bubbled up inside of Scarlett, but it wasn't she who laughed. Dean was bending down, trying not to collapse and seemingly proud of himself.

"I'm gonna kill you…" the blonde muttered, grabbing the pillow from off the ground tightly and chucking it back at Dean with much force.

Then the two proceeded to run, far far away from Scarlett and her precious stuff, with Sienna yelling every swear you can think and Dean regretting every action he had taken in the past five minutes.

She loved those two, she really did, but sometimes alone time was what she needed. When they ending up chasing each other like the cute little couple they were, Scarlett would seize the opportunity to "get shit done."

Her attention turned back to the black box. It seemed more dusty than it actually was in the lighting of the bunker, but it was still there, and that's all that mattered.

She couldn't help but pick up the box and adore it for what seemed like the millionth time in her life. So many things had been stored away in that box…

Photos, items, other things most people would find weird found their permanent place inside the box. Scarlett never dared to open it, mainly because most of the memories inside could be kind of… well… painful.

But today… today was special. She could open the box, and start moving on, or she could leave everything in there, and store it away again for an extended period of time before she added something else.

Curiosity was begging her to open it, and Common Sense was telling her to just leave it.

But when it came to Scarlett and her decision making, Common Sense was never brought into consideration half the time.

She lifted the lid slowly, taking a small peek, and then lifted the entire thing off, taking a good look at the photo that was clearly on the top of the pile of things.

It was of her, Cassie, and Sam. The three of them were at the Texas State Fair, with Sam cradling her in his arms while Cassie lay on the ground in a sort of "Deadpool" pose.

Scarlett remembered that day clearly. She had taken Sam to meet Cassie, she owed him that much. He needed a break, and so did she, plus it had been ages since she had seen her sister.

It was the closest she had ever been to Cassie in forever.

Just as she was about to pick up another photo, she heard footsteps. Without thinking, she dropped the box and kicked it under her bed, almost stubbing her toe on the box itself.

The footsteps grew louder, and Scarlett looked down at the picture. Panic took over her mind. No one was supposed to see this… not even-

"Scar? You got a minute?"

 _Oh shit_ was all she could think.

The picture was still in her hands, so she decided to shove both hands behind her back within a fraction of a second.

Thankfully, Sam didn't notice. He just leaned against the doorway, his thumbs hooked in the pockets of his jeans.

Scarlett simply nodded her head. "Yeah. What's up?"

 _What's up? Is that the best you've got?_

It was always like this, and she never got used to it. Whenever Sam was around, her brain never worked like it did with Dean or Sienna. It was almost as if she had coding hidden deep within her that Sam somehow knew how to active with his "moose powers."

Sam stayed against the door frame, and let out a small sigh. "Not much. I kinda just finished moving all my stuff in."

"Nice," she replied. Scarlett kicked the box further under the bed, which caught Sam's eye.

 _Please don't ask what it is. Please please please!_

Her silent pleas weren't heard by any higher power, since Sam asked the very question she had been dreaded. "What's that?"

 _Dammit_.

Scarlett let out a small sigh, and took one step to the side, revealing the box.

Sam had a look of relief on his face, which confused her. What could he possibly think she was hiding?

Memories were probably the last thing on his list.

"Is that the box you always keep in your truck?"

She nodded once again and made a move to slide it further under the bed. Sam stopped leaning and dove for the box, snatching it before she could get her foot to touch it.

Scarlett stood there in shock, completely terrified. Sam stood up, and dusted the box off just as she had. "I wouldn't do that if I were-" but it was too late. He was already lifting the lid off the box, and Scarlett could only reach out with her left hand due to the fact she was still hiding the picture behind her back with her right.

Sam just stared at the contents, not sure what to say. "So this is… a memory box?"

Once again, Scarlett nodded.

"Thank God… I thought you were trying to take those pills again…" Sam pulled out the little clear bottle, part way full of light pink pills. The lid had a thick layer of hot glue and duct tape around it, preventing anyone to get into the contents.

Scarlett bit her lip, trying to tell Sam to get out f her stuff without actually saying it. He cared too much, and sometimes she wished he didn't. Both he and Dean were always so scared that they were gonna lose each other that it carried over into their friendship with Sienna and her. Sam was just going through everything to make sure she was okay…

Which meant he might find all the memories she wanted to stash away and never see again. He might accidentally pull something out of that box and trigger her painful experiences… the stuff she never wanted to surface.

He set the box down, finally realizing he was intruding in her personal belongings. "Well… you're clean… which is good."

"Why are you like this?"

"Because I am, okay?" he said softly. He set the box down. "So are you gonna tell me what's behind your back or what?"

"It's not drugs, or booze." She snapped, clutching the picture tighter.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Well that narrows it down a lot." Though he likely didn't intend to be sarcastic, it came across that way, and it hurt her.

She flipped her hair off her shoulder with her free hand, praying someone would interrupt their conversation.

It wouldn't happen though. That was the way her luck worked: it was always bad unless some god decided to be merciful, which rarely ever happened.

Sam waited for her, trying not to push her into doing something she didn't want to do.

It took her a bit, but she finally gathered up the courage to pull out the picture. She was anticipating some sort of "you do realize the whole Amelia thing just went down" speech. She braced for the impact, like one would during a car crash, except this time she knew the crash was coming.

He took the picture from her and stared at it for a while, unsure of what to say.

"Go ahead. Tell me I'm a freak for hoarding all this stuff. I've heard it before…" she said.

Sam didn't look up. "Now why would I do that?"

Scarlett just stood there, pretending she was invisible. She was going to say something, even if she didn't know what she wanted to say. Scarlett was trapped in the very situation she never wanted to be in.

Sam looked up from the photo and his gaze fell directly on her. "You really keep all this stuff?"

Another nod.

"That's… honestly kinda cool. He took the picture over to the cork board Scarlett had set up. It was empty save for a few thumbtacks stuck to it and a list of all her emergency contacts written on an old piece of notebook paper.

He took a tack out of the wall and impaled the picture right at the top before sticking it smack in the middle of the board.

There was no emotion in her besides confusion and shock. She was expecting the car crash, and instead she was experiencing a red light as she needed to turn right. "You're not mad…"

Sam Winchester laughed a little. "You seemed really shocked about it, but yeah, I'm not mad. It is a nice picture."

She ended up smiling, and she didn't care if he noticed or not. Scarlett took one step toward him, then another, and then proceeded to walk right up to him and lean her head on his upper arm. "You're right," she said as she stared at the picture one more time, "it is a nice photo."

They stood there for a minute, having some sort of moment.

Maybe, just maybe, this whole thing might finally work.


	2. Chapter 1: Seven Nation Army

_I'm gonna fight 'em off, a seven nation army couldn't hold me back._

 _-Seven Nation Army, The White Stripes_

 **Scarlett** was sitting in her truck, feet propped up on the dash and letting her Evanescence album take center focus.

She looked at the gun in her hand, and began to mess with it, not even checking to make sure the safety was on. She was _supposed_ to be heading to pick up Sienna, but she still had five minutes to kill.

Five minutes in Scarlett Town meant however long it took for her to realize she shouldn't be lip syncing to "My Immortal."

Then again, it was much more fun than waiting outside a small office building in the middle of a small town outside of San Antonio, Texas.

Just as her song was about to finish, Scarlett's phone buzzed, making her jump a little. Her bottle of water nearly spilled from her reaction.

Her phone buzzed again, which could only mean someone was calling her, and it was likely Sienna. She picked up the device and hit the _answer_ button, holding it up to her ear as she did so.

"Where the hell are you?!" Exclaimed a very pissed Sienna Gunner. Scarlett turned off the radio and started her car, not hesitating to step on the gas and start down the road.

"Don't worry," Scarlett spoke into the phone, trying to simultaneously keep her eyes on the road, "I'm on my way. There's traffic out here, believe it or not."

It was a boldfaced lie, but she didn't care. This was Sienna, and when Sienna got mad…

A shiver went down her spine as she thought of all the things a Mad Sienna can do a person. Back when the two of them first started working together, Sienna intimidated her.

No, that was an understatement.

Scarlett used to be _terrified_ of Sienna when she got into work mode. Now, after all that they've been through, she got used to it.

….

Soon enough, she pulled up in front of that little office building where a young blonde girl, was waiting with her arms crossed.

Scarlett quickly put her truck in park, and opened her door. She shoved her phone into her back pocket of her jeans as she exited her vehicle, grabbing her gun.

She couldn't help but raise her arms up high and come around the corner of her truck talking in her own version of a Harley Quinn accent, shaking her hips with each step. "Hiya doll!" she squealed.

Her best friend didn't seem very amused by this, and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Sometimes you worry me…" she remarked.

Scarlett just laughed. "Oh come on! You know you love me!"

The tall blonde just laughed a little, trying to keep up her serious look. It clearly wasn't working, which was exactly what Scarlett wanted.

The two of them got into the truck as they always had when a job was finished. All they had to do was check out of their motel and look for another strange occurrence that would fit a regular human being's definition of "weird."

"So, how'd it go in there with the Shifter?" she asked, trying to not be as annoying as she was five seconds ago.

Sienna shut her door, and showed off her bloodied shirt as well as her crimson drenched knuckles. "How do you think?"

Scarlett then slammed her door closed, turning her keys and starting the engine once more, saying, "well, at least you aren't dead."

She felt Sienna's fist nudge her slightly on her upper arm. She did the same back to her friend and she straightened out on the road.

Scarlett switched on the radio, only to have the _Fallen_ album pick up where she left off.

"Jesus Christ!" was the only reaction Scarlett got from her hunting partner. Usually there was a "Not this again," or a series of various swear words that Scarlett would never dare repeat.

Scarlett took it as a sign that her friend was finally beginning to cave and give into the joy that was rock. Now all she had to do was get her friend into 90's grunge and she was good to go.

Sienna just leaned her head against the side of the truck, letting her right arm dangle out of the window of the passenger side. "You know, Scar… sometimes I _really_ wish you played country…"

"But I don't."

"And you're missing out because of it. Country's awesome." She retorted, turning her head slightly to face Scarlett.

Scarlett was having none of this. She had always hated country and she always will. "It's literally all about beer, girls, pickup trucks, jail, moms, and dogs."

"You own a pickup truck." was Sienna's reply.

This argument was the last thing Scarlett needed to be worrying about, but it was a good enough distraction. Sometimes, a small argument won was a win "Because that's all I can afford. Russia's my first and only car."

She needed this, especially because she was supposed to call Cassie today.

Sienna seemed to notice this, so she went along, "you won't even consider a van?"

"Does it look like I have enough money to consider buying another vehicle?"

"The food stains say no. The credit card scams say yes."

The two of them laughed for what seemed like an eternity. It was true, Scarlett could get a new car if she wanted, but she would never be able to bring herself to do it. Not because obtaining that much money would be risky, but because she couldn't bring herself to leave Russia. This truck had all her memories, and she wasn't leaving those in the hands of someone else.

They passed a sign that declared the city lint and the population, but they didn't bother to read it. Their next stop was still twenty minutes away, and they didn't need to navigate until they got close.

Scarlett completely ignored that Sienna was in the car, and began to sing as loudly as she possibly could. She did this usually when she was alone, mainly because she was fairly self conscious about her singing.

She knew Sienna didn't care, but it still felt weird to do it in front of her. Her music was sacred.

Today however, she felt like she could finally trust her friend to understand. She knew that there would be no mocking, no taunting, and no commentary.

About midway through the third round of the _Fallen_ album, Scarlett's phone began to buzz. There was no way someone could be calling her right now… Cassie only called between ten and eleven at night when their father was fast asleep…

She looked at the caller ID, and saw her sister's name in big bold letters: **ANDERSON, CASSIDY**

Scarlett hit the green _answer_ button, and held the phone up to her ear. "Cassie?"

Her little sister didn't respond immediately, which only made Scarlett more confused and worried.

 _Is she okay?_

 _What if she's hurt…_

 _No. Stop. Cassie's okay… otherwise she wouldn't be able to call me…_

"Hey Scarlett…" Cassie was holding back tears, anyone could tell from the way her voice was trembling.

"Cassie, what's wrong."

"Dad wants to talk to you."

Sienna seemed interested in the conversation, and perked up, ready to take the phone from her should it be necessary.

Scarlett knew that when talking to her sister, she had to be nice. The kid was twelve after all… instead, this came out: "Why the hell does he wanna talk to _me_?"

"God, Scar, I don't know? Maybe because he _misses_ you? Ever think about that?" The sarcasm in her voice hurt Scarlett, so she took a deep breath and tried again.

"Cassie, I can't talk to him. There's no way he'll ever understand," she paused to take another breath before continuing to say, "he doesn't know what happened with Marcus."

She could hear Cassie gasp slightly at the mention of their cousin. " _Don't_ say that name… Dad will try to send us off to a therapist again…"

Scarlett almost instantly regretted snapping at her sister. Cassie didn't speak for what seemed like an eternity.

"Cassie… look I'm s-" she began, but was cut off.

"YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT!"

Hearing her sister scream like that… witnessing all that anger… it only made Scarlett hurt more. "Cassie, listen to me. I'm not speaking to Dad, and I'm going to call you again tomorrow."

"Come home."

 _Cassie… you know I can't do that…_

That was what she wanted to say. Her sister wouldn't understand, not until she was older at least. Not until she fully understood what Scarlett was actually doing for all the years she was gone.

It was moments like this that she wished she were still home, watching old Disney movies with Marcus while Cassie tried to do her school work in the room over.

 _Marcus_.

No. Not today. She wasn't going to think about him today. She wasn't going to think about him ever.

"I'm hanging up, Cassie." she spoke softly this time, praying that her sister wouldn't say anything else.

"Okay."

And that was it.

Scarlett pounded her thumb against the button, severing the connection. She looked over at Sienna, who knew better than to ask.

"It's fine… we're almost back to the motel."

Sienna opened her mouth, about to say something, but immediately shut it. Scarlett wanted so badly to let out a sigh of relief, but it would only make her friend even more concerned.

She couldn't help but wonder why the hell Cassie would ever _think_ about trying to get their father to talk to Scarlett. Sure, he probably missed her, but she wasn't going to ever let him get the satisfaction of her coming home.

Especially not after the whole "you and your sister are psychopaths" thing.

Just thinking about him made Scarlett's blood boil with pure rage. She gripped the steering wheel tighter, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes for two seconds.

When she opened them again, the sun was just beginning to set. It wasn't even touching the horizon, but the sky was already tinted a slightly darker shade of blue mixed with a soft yellow. The clouds above hadn't caught the color yet, but they were bound to by the time they checked out and ended up back on the road again.

"Hey Scar?" It was Sienna.

Scarlett nodded her head, "yeah?"

The blonde adjusted herself in her seat a little, then proceeded to speak. "You doing okay?"

"I'm fine."

"That's the number one lie everyone has ever told." She said, trying to be soft with her words.

Scarlett couldn't help but crack a small smile. "Oh yeah? Well it just so turns out that it's part of our job to lie."

"You got me there."

…..

They ended up in a bar just outside of Schertz, Texas.

Normally, Scarlett would just wait in her truck for Sienna to grab a drink and get out, but every once in awhile, Sienna wouldn't mind if she came with, so long as she didn't try to get a drink with any of her fake ID's.

Sienna was really big on the whole "I am not letting you drink underaged" thing. She may be a badass, but sometimes she was kind of a mom towards Scarlett.

Not that Scarlett cared. She kind of appreciated the care, even if it got on her nerves a little bit.

Tonight, she was sitting at a table with Sienna, having a glass of water while her twenty-three year old bestie was drinking her second small glass of scotch.

Sienna was looking through the local newspaper, likely trying to look for a case so the two of them could get another distraction from their lives.

She didn't seem to find anything in particular, which gave Scarlett the opportunity to make her way to the pool table.

There were two scrawny guys about to start a game. One was about five foot, five inches. He had black rimmed glasses and gelled up blonde hair.

The other guy was shorter than him, and it was hard to tell how tall he was due to the lighting, but Scarlett could assume he only came up to her chin. He too had blonde hair, but the tips were poorly dyed a turquoise hue.

The two boys noticed her making her way over and didn't start their game.

"Mind if I join?" She asked, pausing just before she ran into the table.

The taller one smirked. "Sure, but I don't think you'll be able to beat us."

"Is that so?" she replied, walking over to the wall and grabbing a stick. "I'm fairly good at cutthroat."

The taller guy didn't seem to think she could do it. "Oh yeah? Then prove it."

"Sure, so long as I'm numbers 6-10." she said as she went over to the end of the table.

"A girl like you doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd play pool," the turquoise idiot remarked.

Scarlett smiled politely, the took off her flannel and tied it around her waist. She lined her stick up with the white ball, concentrating hard on the triangle of multicolored balls.

 _Just remember what Marcus taught you… don't over think… just let it happen…_

She slammed the end of the stick into the white ball, which in turn broke the triangle up, sending the solid purple ball into one of the pockets.

"Damn…"

Scarlett had a feeling they weren't commenting about the fact she just put one of their balls in. "Stop staring at my ass and play."

The three of them went at it, with the tall guy being numbers 1-5 and Turquoise Idiot being numbers 11-15.

All of them kept sinking balls, until there was only a two, and eight, a six, a five, and an eleven left.

All three of them were still in the game, and it was getting competitive.

"You know, I'm quite impressed… you got a name?" It was the tall guy who spoke.

"Yeah," she said as she lined up her stick again, "it's Scarlett." The white ball made contact with the end of stick and ended up hitting the five onto the edge of the left side basket.

The tall blonde exhaled slightly, grateful his number didn't roll in. "Cool name, I'm Drake, and that's my brother, Colin."

Colin rose his eyebrows and lifted his chin as if there say "if you didn't know already, he's referring to me." He took his turn, and nearly scratched.

Drake couldn't help but laugh a little. "As you can see, I'm the more talented out of the two of us."

"Shut it." His brother snapped.

Scarlett smiled a little, remembering how she and Cassie used to be like that. "So you guys come here often?"

"Yeah, but I sure as hell know you don't. I've never seen you around before." Drake took his shot as he spoke sinking his brother's eleven.

Colin groaned a little bit, but accepted his loss and hung his stick up.

Drake proceeded to aim for her eight, which he ended up setting up to put into the top right pocket. All Scarlett had to do was sink the five in and pray she hit the two so that he couldn't get her eight or her six from where the ball ended up.

 _Relax, Scarlett… you got this…_

"I don't suppose you wanna go back to my place after this?"

The comment made her hit the ball with enough force to knock the five in, but left the white ball teetering on the edge.

If anything pissed Scarlett off, it was men trying to do whatever it took to get into a girl's pants.

She ignored it, and walked around to aim at the blue two.

Drake bit his lip, afraid that she might actually sink it. There was no possible way from her angle… but if she hit it a little to the left…

Even Colin seemed anxious to see what she did next. Scarlett did her best to not pay attention to their eyes practically burning into her skull.

She hit the ball, just as she always had, but it wasn't enough to move to two to the point where Drake would have no choice but to hit it and set her up.

"Dammit," she muttered.

Drake flashed her a smile. "It ain't over yet, Miss Scarlett."

He then took his turn, and sunk the eight into the top right pocket, just as he had planned.

But the six wasn't set up… which gave Scarlett a better chance.

Drake realized his mistake, and ended up tying to hit the two into the top left pocket from an awkward angle.

He ended up grazing the ball, making it move just a tad. "Looks like you win, Scarlett."

"Oh, but it ain't over yet." With that, she hit the shiny blue two into the left side pocket, sealing her fate as victor.

Colin began a slow clap, to which Drake joined in. "Looks like we were wrong. I suppose I have to buy you a drink now?"

"You don't have to-"

But it was too late, he was already walking over to the bartender. Scarlett exhaled, wanting so badly to tell him she didn't want the-

Wait, hell yeah she wanted the drink! It was Sienna who didn't want her to have one…

She glanced over at her friend, whose face was still buried in the paper, not paying attention to her.

Maybe just one couldn't hurt.


	3. Charter 2: Somebody Told Me

_Somebody told me, that you've got a boyfriend_

 _-Somebody Told Me, The Killers_

 **Scarlett** didn't have to wait long for Drake to return with two martini's in each hand. She took the one out of his right hand, thanking him as she did so.

"You play one helluva game," he said, running his fingers through his gelled hair.

She smiled, trying to show her gratitude in any way she possibly could. She hasn't exactly gotten anything from anyone in quite some time, and she always did have trouble being social in general.

Even when she was little she could barely hold a conversation. She'd just clam up eventually, and it would be the same with this guy.

It was only a mattered of time now, and she was going to enjoy this little moment of social interaction.

"Thanks, my cousin actually taught me and my sister how to play."

It felt weird, talking about Marcus in front of a guy she had never met before. Drake was interested though, which to her meant she was probably doing well with this whole "conversation" thing.

"You know, you'd look pretty good with red hair."

"Do you say that to all the girls?"

"If you mean making honest comments, then yes."

Scarlett took a small sip of the martini, and nearly spat it out. The only thing alcoholic that she had ever had was a glass of wine at her Aunt Maria's wedding, and even then she didn't like it.

"Something wrong?" Drake asked.

Scarlett shook her head no, and swallowed the drink. "No… I just haven't had one of these in quite some time…"

It wasn't a whole lie… just a tiny one… mixed with truth that wasn't told in a way that the true message would get to him.

So yeah, it wasn't really a lie.

The blonde ran his fingers through his hair for what seemed like the millionth time, and proceeded to grab a table for the two of them.

Scarlett took a seat right across from him, twirling the umbrella of her martini with her middle finger. "So," she began, "what's your story?"

"Why does there have to be a story?" He replied almost instantly.

She smirked. "The fact that you respond so quickly as if it were a natural reflex implies that you've got a story. And I wanna hear it."

Drake just leaned back in his chair, letting out a sigh. "Damn, Sherlock, you're good."

"Thanks. Now start talking."

Drake's soft smile faded, and his green eyes lowered to the floor. "Don't judge but uh… I'm a highschool dropout," he began, fiddling with his fingers as he spoke, "Colin and I kinda just ran away after our mom got remarried. This place is kind of our second home."

Scarlett wanted really badly to just, reach out and comfort him. She sort of got it, his whole situation, but she couldn't ever bring herself to gather enough confidence to comfort someone.

Instead, all she could offer was her story.

"I'm a dropout too." She blurted. Somehow, Scarlett wished she could take it back. Drake's eyes were on her now, which meant she had to keep talking.

"Yeah," she said, taking a deep breath, "kinda left after… someone close to me died." Drake was paying full attention now.

So she kept going. "Sienna and I," she gestured to her friend who was now getting her second glass of scotch, "we've been on a road trip ever since."

"Interesting," was his response.

Scarlett took another glance at Sienna, who still hadn't notice the martini, or the fact that she was at a table with a guy.

She downed the rest of her drink, then proceeded to push the empty glass forward enough that her friend would think Drake had two drinks instead of one. "Thanks for everything, but I should probably get going."

Drake's smile returned, and the serious mood their conversation had set seemed to melt away. "Adios, Miss Scarlett. I hope we meet again."

"I wish I could say the same," she replied, standing up and throwing her flannel back on, "but I don't think I'll ever be back. Thanks, again."

He lifted his head slightly and saluted her, "then good luck on the road."

She laughed a little before saluting him back.

Sienna was waiting for her by the door, holding the local newspaper. "Looks like we've got something here."

"Really? What?" To be honest, she wanted to get the hell out of here. Drake was nice and all, but she kinda wanted to just leave him and never see him again. If he saw her walking around town… he'll think she lied to him, and that's the last thing she wanted.

Sienna pushed open the door, and the two of them walked out of the bar and into the dark of the night. "Two people have gone missing in the past week and a half, exactly five days apart."

"And that's weird, why, exactly?" Scarlett dug her keys out of her car as she spoke. Her truck was sitting in between an army green jeep and a tree, exactly as she had left it.

"Scar, let's just check this out, okay?"

Scarlett unlocked her car and proceeded to not respond until she was safe within the walls of her vehicle. "Alright… we'll check it out… but if there's nothing in two days, we go back to the Roadhouse."

"That's the spirit."

SS=

Scarlett woke up in yet another shitty motel bed, with only half of her entire body actually on the bed. The other half was hanging off the mattress.

She was groping for the nightstand, desperately trying to pull herself up before she fell awkwardly off the bed and onto the rough carpet.

"I see you're already up, Spider-Man," Sienna chimed from the bathroom.

Scarlett let out a loud groan as she pushed herself off the nightstand and rolled onto her back, face up and completely back on the mattress. "Five more minutes…" she grumbled, pulling the covers up over her head to block out the sunlight that was streaming through the window.

Her friend let out a sigh and decided it would be funny to yank the covers off the bed.

Scarlett responded to this by taking a pillow and placing it atop her head. "I. Want. To. Sleep."

Sienna laughed a little bit, saying, "well too bad. We're going down to the hospital. One of the girl's father works there."

A loud sigh came from Scarlett as she tossed the pillow to the side. She still didn't sit up, mainly because she was too tired to do so. This was usually their routine: Scarlett refusing to get up while Sienna did her best to get things moving.

If Sienna weren't with her, Scarlett would sleep for days on end.

After ten minutes of passive-aggressive fighting, Scarlett found herself standing in front of the bathroom mirror, trying not to stab her eye out with the mascara wand. She had already nearly gotten some on her cheap pantsuit she had purchased at a thrift store, and she couldn't afford to mess it up due to the fact that washing this monstrosity was a nightmare.

She succeeded in getting the mascara to be decent, but she gave up on the blush.

Scarlett threw on some lipstick she found in Sienna's makeup bag and took a look at herself in the mirror. "I look like a bitch," she declared, smoothing out the wrinkles in her suit.

Sienna laughed a little bit, "well, you're not wrong. That means you look good, they'll fall for it."

"I've never done this before, so why am I doing it now?" She asked, turning around and looking her friend in the eye.

The blonde finished buttoning up the nice jacket that came with her pantsuit before speaking. "Because, it's a good skill. Besides, I don't like doing this alone."

"Yeah, well don't I look a little young to be a federal agent?"

Scarlett left the bathroom and proceeded to grab her hair brush. She let it run through her messy hair before tying it up in a bun in an attempt to make herself look more professional.

Sienna took the brush from Scarlett and gave herself a low bun.

The two girls took one last look at themselves in the mirror, each trying to calm their nerves. "You know what you need?" Sienna asked.

"What?"

The blonde began to shuffle through her makeup bag and pulled out some brown eyeshadow. "Contour."

Scarlett didn't want any more makeup on her face than necessary, and this was WAY more than necessary. "Hell no."

"Yes."

SS=

They pulled up to the county hospital and quickly got out of the truck, praying nobody saw them. It was bad enough that Scarlett was only nineteen. The truck would only make people more suspicious.

Scarlett wasn't pleased at all about the amount of various cosmetics that were applied to her face, and in order to keep from exploding, she had to keep telling herself that she'd be able to take it all off soon.

Just talk to the people. Get into the hospital. Get out. Easy.

Scarlett followed Sienna into the building, discretely locking her truck in the process. They were greeted by a young nurse with bright red hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She had freckles that covered the majority of her face, and striking blue eyes. "Hi, can I help you?"

Sienna snagged her fake badge from her pocket and held it up for the woman to see. Scarlett did the same, though not as swiftly. "I'm Agent Gordon, and this is Agent Prince. We're with the FBI."

The lady looked a little shocked. "What's the FBI doing here? Is this about the missing girls?"

Scarlett found herself speechless. "Actually… uh… um…"

"What she means to say is," Sienna quickly intervened, "is that the disappearances have caught our attention. We were wondering if you could tell us anything about it."

The ginger quickly got up out of her seat. "Yeah… follow me…"

She kept her head down as she lead us through a dizzying amount of pure white hallways, lot with bright fluorescents. Scarlett couldn't help but notice how orderly everything here was. Each hallway had the exact same layout, but each section of the hospital was for a different thing.

The only wing that was different than all the others was the children's part of the hospital. I was bright as well, but more fill of color. It seemed welcoming, which was probably what they were going for when designing this place.

According to the internet, the father of one of the girls, Doctor Leraden, worked in the children's wing of the hospital. His daughter was on track to get a nursing license so she could help him out. The ginger told the two "agents" that last small tidbit.

Both Scarlett and Sienna were trying their best to look professional, but Scarlett couldn't quite get used to walking in heels. She tripped over them constantly, and at one point, took them off to make sure blisters weren't forming.

The ginger lady seemed a little confused, but brushed it off like it was nothing. Apparently, Schertz, Texas didn't get many visits from federal agents, which was a plus for the girls.

In town like this, they could make a few mistakes and no one would bat an eye, which Scarlett was thankful for.

Sienna had never taken her out on the "federal investigation" part of the job, mainly because she was so young. Sienna had always needed back at their motel to do research, or to eavesdrop and see if should could pick up on anything weird.

This… this was a whole new thing for her… and she would never admit how shaky she currently was, or the fact she felt more nauseous than a human being should in a situation like this.

It didn't help that she had forgotten to take her pills this morning in her rush to get out the door.

 _Please tell me I have a bottle in my pocket… please tell me I have one…_

She dug through the pantsuit, but found nothing.

 _Dammit_.

She tried her best to focus on something else… like the way the lady's ginger hair swayed as she walked.

"Are you alright, Miss Prince?" she asked, spinning around on her heels.

Scarlett nodded, and proceeded to keep her head down. Sienna was quick to say something before this nice lady got suspicious. "She's still fairly new to this whole thing…"

The nurse nodded, a sympathetic smile coming across her face.

 _I don't need your sympathy, lady…_

Scarlett took a deep breath and pretended to be interested in the colorful, abstract paintings on the walls of the children's wing while Sienna had a conversation with the ginger nurse.

She lead them further down the hallway until they came to a slightly darker wood door than the rest of the rooms. "He should still be in his office. Just go on in."

Sienna thanked her, and opened the door, gesturing for Scarlett to go in first.

She didn't hesitate to do so, and almsot ran inside, thankful to get away.

The office was small, with two chairs sitting in front of a desk that had only one laptop sitting on the wood. There was a small bookshelf in the corner with several photos in nice frames on top. Behind the desk was a nice leather chair, and in it was a man, likely is his fifties.

He looked up from a pile of paper in his hands, running his fingers through his graying hair in the process. "Can I help you?"

Sienna held up her FBI badge and shut to door behind her, saying, "Sir, I'm Agent Gordon, this is Agent Prince. We're here about the missings girls."

The doctor opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead lowered his head.

Scarlett couldn't help but notice all the pictures in his office of his family. She looked at every one of them, trying to find something off.

Each picture was carefully framed, placed in what seemed like this guy's idea of perfection. To any normal person, it was just a bunch of pictures.

For Scarlett, it was an indication that this man either has OCD, or he's hiding something.

She knew this… had all her pictures placed perfectly on her dresser back home after… after Marcus…

No. You're not thinking about this now. You already killed the thing that did it…

She concentrated even harder on the pictures as Sienna began to converse with the Doctor. "Sir, if there's anything you can tell us, we'd very much appreciate it."

Scarlett turned to face Doctor Leradan, glaring at him. If Sienna was gonna be good cop, she was gonna be bad cop.

"Doctor Leradan, you do realize that lying to government officials is in fact, illegal, so I suggest you start talking now so we can get to the bottom of this," Scarlett barked, crossing her arms and leaning against the book shelf.

He took a deep breath before speaking for the first time since they entered the office. "My daughter… Christine… she was heading to a friend's… it was my fault… all my fault…"

Doctor Leradan began to sob uncontrollably into his hands, which caused Sienna to give her signature glare to Scarlett.

She turned to the doctor and placed a hand on his. "It's okay… we're going to get her back, we promise."

"You can't…"

Sienna seemed a little shocked to hear his answer. "And why's that?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you…"


	4. Chapter 3: I Write Sins Not Tragedies

_It's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality!_

 _-I Write Sins Not Tragedies, Panic! at the Disco_

" **Vampires,"** Scarlett repeated once they got back to the truck. "I can't believe he actually said _vampires."_

Sienna nodded her head a big smile on her face. "I've always wanted to kill one of those babies…"

Scarlett could barely breathe. "We're actually going after a vamp… even after Minnesota?"

"Yup."

Scarlett just got into the truck, gripping the steering wheel tight once she was buckled in. The last time she was around vamps, she nearly died… if it hadn't been for that guy… she wouldn't even be here to tell the tale.

She wasn't about to go back and face one right this moment.

Her friend, on the other hand, was over the moon about it. Sienna had yet to kill a vamp even after over four years of hunting. She was used to the usual salt and burn, along with the occasional werewolf.

Scarlett, on the other hand, was an expert with Wendigos and shape shifters. She liked those monsters better, if she had to pick. They were always more exciting to hunt, and she usually always had someone with her just in case.

But with vamps… they were unpredictable… they were the most human and that meant they were more likely to kill you. At least Wendigos had lost all their sanity…

But she couldn't worry about that now.

Scarlett turned her key into the side of her steering wheel, and she couldn't help but smile as her truck's engine roared to life. She had no trouble pulling out of the parking lot, it was practically empty by now.

As they drove off, Sienna made the mistake of turning on the radio.

Scarlett couldn't help but beam as one of her all time favorite songs began to play.

"Oh hell no…" Sienna groaned, "you better not sing."

Scarlett's smile only grew wider. "You put more makeup on my face, this is payback."

"No."

" _Oh! Well imagine!"_

Sienna rolled her eyes. "St-"

Scarlett cranked her radio up louder to drown out the sound of Sienna's voice. " _As I'm pacing the pews of a church corridor!"_

Scarlett did her best to pay attention to the road as she sang, but there was an occasional swerve here and there. She blamed it on all the trash that littered the side of the road, but they both knew it's because Scarlett always got carried away with the music.

" _It's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality!"_

The blonde continues to pretend she hated it, but deep down, Scarlett _knew_ that her friend enjoyed it just a little.

Scarlett enjoyed these little moments in the car. The times when they were in the middle of a case, driving back to the motel in the middle of the day to take a nap before hitting some bar for dinner, jamming to whatever music the other "hated."

It was moments like these that really made her love her job.

Her whole reason for getting into the whole mess was revenge, and now that it's over, she wasn't sure what she was in it for. There was no money, no fame… but there was the look on people's faces when they realize that their horrors were over.

Maybe that's why she did it, to make sure no one would have to suffer as much as she did for so long…

"Scar?"

"Yeah, Sienna," she replied, not taking her eyes off the road.

Sienna turned her head to face Scarlett, half leaning against the truck door. "Were you okay? Back there in the hospital."

"I'm okay, I swear. I just forgot to take my pills this morning." She replied, giving her friend a soft smile, praying it would convince Sienna to drop the subject.

Scarlett wanted to just focus on her music, not the case.

She had that problem. Instead of actually doing her job, she wanted to procrastinate because of her own personal issues.

But she knew that with this job came consequences, and yet here she was, doing the one thing that would possibly get more people killed.

The faster they got this done, the more people that would live, and the quicker they got out of this small town.

"Scar? Are you even listening to me?" Sienna began waving her hands, trying to snap Scarlett's mind back to earth, where it usually never was.

Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Of course not. You know me well enough to know _that_."

Her friend punched her in the shoulder, and Scarletto had to admit that it kind of hurt… but she didn't say anything, it wasn't worth making a fuss over.

Sienna adjusted herself once again, propping her feet up on the dash. Scarlett didn't hesitate to slap her friend's legs with enough force for Sienna to get the message that she wasn't supposed to have her feet on the dash.

"What the hell?!" Sienna screeched, sitting up straight. The color in her face was barely fading, indicating she had been frightened.

Scarlett allowed herself to let her lips twist into a smug little smile. "Feet off my dash, Gunner."

=SS=

Scarlett found herself back at the bar, shaking as she ordered several shots of Moonshine.

The barista didn't seem to notice, or care, which made this easier for Scarlett.

But the fact she was using a fake ID to order a drink while under aged wasn't what was bothering her… no, it was the fact that Drake was over at the pool table with his brother once again.

She didn't want him to notice her and think she was a liar, because she wasn't.

 _Just get out of here, it'll be easier tha-_

Before she could even finish her thought, Drake looked up from his game and directly at her. Scarlett could see all the shock and relief painted across his face, and for some reason, it wasn't any more comforting than listening to the entirety of _A Fever You Can't Sweat Out._

He only took his eyes off her to shoot, and she only knew this because she was looking at him out of the corner of her eye as she downed one shot after another.

Her mind kept telling her to just get the hell out, to disappear and run away… her gut told her otherwise.

She took a deep breath, had one more shot, and made up her mind.

She slid off her chair, and kept her eyes fixed on the pool table. She made her way through the maze of chairs and sweaty people, never losing sight of her goal.

When she finally reached the table, Drake set down his stick just after sinking the number four ball. "I thought you were leaving."

"So did I," she replied, trying her best to not act like a complete idiot, "but something came up. So I'm kinda staying for a few more days."

Drake laughed a little, and proceeded to do his signature "I'm gonna run my finger through my overly gelled hair" thing. "Well that's cool. My brother and I are actually gonna be going in a few days as well."

Scarlett wanted so badly to ask why, but she knew better than to pry into someone's private life. Plus, she wasn't exactly great with engaging in a conversation about anything but simple and trivial things. "That's… uh…"

"You don't really need to say anything, I get your point," he interjected. Scarlett was somewhat thankful for it, she didn't want to embarrass herself further.

She placed a hand in the pocket of her jeans, switching the ringer off on her phone. "So, you got any plans tonight?"

He smiled just enough so that Scarlett could see his perfectly white teeth, which was odd considering he and his brother were on the road like her.

 _Stop it, that doesn't matter…_

She chased away her thoughts and focused more on his answer.

"Actually, Colin and I are gonna to get his hair redone after a few drinks, you wanna come with?"

"Sure." There was no hesitation with her answer. None.

This was the closest she had ever come to making friends outside of Sienna, and she was gonna make the most of it.

She followed Drake to a small table in a corner where Colin was sitting, teal hair and all. He noticed her, and immediately straightened up, almost impressed that she was here.

"Hey," Scarlett greeted, being friendly like her old therapist used to recommend.

Colin gave a small head nod. "Hey."

The two boys quickly made room for Scarlett, and when she sat down, they handed her a beer bottle.

"Cheers?" Drake asked.

She nodded in reply, "cheers."

The three raised their bottle and pressed them together. Scarlett marveled at the sound of glass touching glass. It was musical… and beautiful…

Even as the liquid slid down her throat, she thought about the sound. It was so…

 _Satisfying…_

She looked around the bar and saw people looking at their bottle nearly the same way she was… in awe… had could something so cool come from something so dangerous.

Scarlett and Colin ended up in an unspoken drinking match. Scarlett was determined to finish her bottle first, and chugged down the beer like it was nothing.

She slammed the empty bottle on the table just a mere second after Colin. He may have the victory now… but would he go for a second bottle?

Drake became their official "get more drinks" guy. They spent what seemed like hours laughing, drinking, and having the time of their lives.

The world was spinning in a way Scarlett didn't know it ever could. Colors blended into other colors, the world was a slur of magnificence…

Her mind wasn't in her way now. She had no thoughts to hold her back. It was just Scarlett, the bottles of beer, and fun.

She didn't even think for a moment that there was a large possibility she was drunk, nor did she care. She hadn't had this much fun in a while.

Colin was the first to bring up the fact he was supposed to get his hair redone, which killed their carefree mood just a little bit.

Drake had been drinking the least, so it was a unanimous vote when asked who should drive.

When Scarlett stood up, she nearly fell back onto another chair. If it weren't for Drake, she'd've hit her head and would be out cold.

He helped her out of the bar, doing his best to make sure Scarlett didn't crash into someone or something.

Scarlett… all she knew was that she was going to a salon.

"Hey Miss Scarlett? You with us?" She could hear Drake calling out to her. He was so close… but his voice seemed so far away…

 _Like that scene from the Lion King! Yeah!_

"Hey Mufasa? You think I could get my hair done too…?" She asked, her words blurring together.

Drake flashed his brother a look of concern. "Scarlett I don't think-"

"Yay! I'm gonna get it _red_!"

At this point, they were in the parking lot, walking toward Colin's minivan. Drake was trying, and failing horribly, to convince Scarlett that she needed to go home.

But Scarlett didn't want the fun to end. She wanted her hair done. Simple as that… why couldn't these boys understand that?

She didn't notice the fact he was practically holding her up from underneath her arms, nor did she notice how severely crookedly she walked.

All that went through to her was Drake's words: "Scarlett, you're drunk."

"So?" she snapped, tossing her head back, plastering a big, smile on her face. It wasn't the kind sort of smile… no… it was the kind of smile someone would find on the Joker as he skinned every last member of the Gotham City Police Department.

She didn't care if either of these boys noticed. Maybe it was time the world saw what really happened behind her curtains.

Drake, however, wasn't ever going to find that out, and to Scarlett, it seemed as if he was determined for her to keep her secrets.

"So, you need to go home. We'll drop you off at wherever you're staying," he added, his voice becoming softer and more exhausted the more she weighed him down.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I want my hair done. And a tattoo… that's a good idea… let's get tattoos…" The idea of a tattoo seemed great to her right about now… a bunch of needles puncturing her skin and leaving behind a small speck of ink that would turn into something beautiful and meaningful to her drunk mind.

There was nothing stopping her, and as long as she was completely out of it, she was going to be the unstoppable force.

She wasn't even the slightest bit worried about what Sienna would say when the blonde found out. That girl was like a mother sometimes… always making sure Scarlett didn't do anything _fun_.

 _Yeah… you her you make your own decisions! Get the red hair!_

Scarlett turned her head to face Drake as Colin unlocked the car, not even trying to lower the volume of her voice. "I wanna do something for myself. I want red hair."

He pondered her words for a few moments before finally letting out an exasperated sigh. "Fine… but no tattoo…"

"Ugh… you're BORING!"


End file.
